Friday, October 24, 2014

biopsy and the selfie

Early
September, I had an appointment with the dermatologist to look at a
spot on my nose that had a tendency to bleed. Not often, maybe a
couple times a year.

I
had already been to her previously about it about 4 years ago. She
looked at it and determined it to be a vein that had migrated to the
surface. Sounded plausible to me. She gave it a shot of that freezey
stuff and it went away. For over two years. But then it came back so
I made another appointment.

She sliced it off and sent it in to be biopsied. The
results were basal cell carcinoma and she wanted me back in for
further treatment. I've had one of those before and have a small
circular scar beside my nose under my right eye because the
dermatologist I went to back then wanted to send me to a plastic
surgeon to have it cut out and stitched up so it wouldn't leave a
scar. I declined. This current one healed into a nice little divot on the end
of my nose.

My
follow-up appointment was Wednesday. Before the doctor came in, the
nurse?, attendant?, said the doctor would either scrape and burn or
use a medication and I needed to sign this consent form first.
Personally, I thought going to the doctor to get treated was consent
but, whatever.

Anyway,
the doctor, who is a really nice young thing, came in and said there
was still some bad tissue, that the biopsy had not got it all and I
actually had three options...scrape and burn which would leave a
bigger deeper divot on the tip of my nose, I could use a medication that
costs $800 (yeah, that was my reaction too), or she could use a little tool to
take a deeper plug out of my nose and then stitch it up which would leave a little line of a scar. The cost of
that was barely more than my first visit with the biopsy.

So
that is what she did. She injected the spot with a deadener, much
like the dentist does, waited for it to numb up, used that little
tool to extract a plug of tissue, and then stitched it up. Then she
put a spot bandaid on it which wasn't doing a very good job since it
was still weeping blood and the ends of the sutures were sticking out
(I was holding a mirror).

She
took the little bandaid off and I got a good look at her handiwork. I
have a little spider with wonky legs. Seems appropriate for the
season. I'll just tell everyone I got my nose pierced and this is my
stud.

I
told her I didn't need a bandaid, that I was fine but she insisted.

It
will make me look bad if you walk through the waiting room bleeding.

Because
a 3" long bandaid starting on my cheek and over my nose, tucked
into my nostril, looks so much better.

I like your spider. I'm glad you got that taken care of. I had a tumor removed from my right cheek by plastic surgeon so that I wouldn't have a scar or a divot. it turned out great. But the vanity gods decided to give me a rather pronounced divot on my left cheek, about the size of a fingertip that has no known cause. The gods are laughing and laughing and laughing.

I just had a biopsy done on a mole on my back. I hadn't even noticed the thing (it's on my BACK). Hoping it was one of those "well I couldn't really see anything wrong so let's just take this" dealios. We shall see.

I kind of like your spider. Here's hoping that that's all there is to it!